Rotten Tomatoes Is Delaying the Reveal of the 'Justice League' Tomatometer Score

Fans of superhero flicks often complain that harsh reviews hurt those films at the box office. But now, they're getting a bit of a reprieve: Rotten Tomatoes won't reveal its "Justice League" Tomatometer score until the day before the film hits theaters.

The move wasn't made with audiences' feelings in mind, though. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the delay is thanks to Rotten Tomatoes' new Facebook streaming show "See It/Skip It," which airs late on Wednesday nights/early on Thursday mornings, depending on your time zone.

Part of the draw for "See It/Skip It" hinges on its exclusive reveal of each discussed television show or movie's Tomatometer score, which comes at the end of the episode. Rotten Tomatoes can entice viewers to tune in by promising to be the first place a certain property's score is made public.

This week, "Justice League" will be the featured flick on "See It/Skip It," and its score will be unveiled once the show airs at 12:01 a.m. EST on Thursday (9:01 p.m. PST on Wednesday). Of course, "Justice League" will be hitting theaters in preview screenings beginning on Thursday night, meaning that the score won't make its way to audiences until the day the flick begins its rollout.

As THR explains it, the delayed reveal could be either a positive or a negative for studios.

If a Tomatometer rating is good, Hollywood studios may not be happy to see their movies being selected for the See It/Skip It reveal, since the score is a powerful marketing tool in and of itself. Conversely, if a score is rotten, the delay could prove a blessing.

Early buzz for "Justice League" has been decidedly mixed, and THR notes that Warner Bros. owns a minority stake in Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting that the studio doesn't want the score out in the open too soon before the flick's debut. But Rotten Tomatoes claims there's nothing fishy happening, telling THR that "the company is making every attempt to pick a film whose reviews break closest to the air date of 'See It/Skip It.'"

"Justice League" previews begin on Thursday. The film opens nationwide on Friday.